Janus
by BloodRaevynn
Summary: Give it back... My life... My love... My freedom... Give it back to me!
1. Prologue

A\N: It's been a while since I've written, ne? I had a major dry-spell in the fic department because Cyra, my muse, thinks fanfiction is a waste of time. Fortunately I just got a new muse for fanfics, and she immediately popped out two LoZ:OoT fic ideas! Lucky you! ^_^ I hope to get back to "The Fragile Web" soon too.  
  
Shonia has a wonderfully twisted taste in plots and likes emotional torture...let's just hope she doesn't do what Malysa did and decide to torture _me_ by not letting me write.  
  
Shonia: I wouldn't do that! ^_^ I prefer to torture bishis! ^_~  
  
Raevynn: Are you saying I'm not bijo?  
  
Shonia: Of course not! ^_^ Perish the thought! ^_^  
  
Raevynn: That "Mildly Evil" Eriol-ish look you're wearing is very disturbing, you know.  
  
Shonia: ^_^  
  
Anyway, I've just realized how much I love mediaminer.org now in attempting to post this to ff.net. Those of you on ff.net will not notice the bold and italicized words or indentations because ff.net sucks like that ;p It sucks for me too though, since I have to go back and put the little underbars around things to show that they're italicized, I'm not going to bother with the bolds. I don't like ff.net much anymore, but I won't stop posting there, no sense in depriving everyone else because I don't like the management ^_^ (I'm not arrogant, really, just in a good mood).  
  
Janus  
  
Prologue  
  
She stared at the canopy of her bed for what seemed like hours, not knowing what had awakened her. The soft moonlight illuminated the diaphanous violet fabric of her bed curtains so that they seemed ethereal.  
  
A frosty breath of wind from the window made her shiver even through her down comforter. Reluctantly she got up from her bed, took the pale blue robe from the hook beside her bed and put it on as she went to shut the window. Once the latch was set once more, she turned, rubbing her arms through the robe to warm them, and started back toward her bed. As she was about to get back into bed, a glimpse in the long mirror set into the wall next to her stopped her in her tracks.  
  
Rather than her own reflection, she saw the reflection of a young man dressed in a blue, gray, and white body suit with the red emblem of an eye on his chest. Eyes, red like embers, bore into hers accusingly from a finely featured face surrounded by corn-silk hair that fell to his chin in the front and shorter in the back.  
  
She gasped and one of her hands rose to her mouth; the reflection did not move.  
  
"Give it back..." the reflection whispered. "Please give it back to me..."  
  
"What...what do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Give it back... My life... My love... My freedom... Give it back to me!"  
  
"I don't understand!"  
  
"Give it back!!!" The reflection slammed his fists against the glass of the mirror imprisoning him. "Give it back!!!" A spiderweb of cracks began to spread across the mirror. "GIVE IT BACK!!!" The mirror shattered and his arms reached out, icy hands closing on her throat...  
  
She woke up screaming.  
  
"Zelda!"  
  
She was hyperventilating, dizzy; she slowly turned her head to her bedroom door, to see Link there, flanked by two of her personal guard. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her mirror was intact.  
  
"What happened!?" The young man hurried to her side.  
  
Making a conscious effort to slow her breathing, Zelda managed to gasp out; "It...it is nothing...just a...a nightmare..."  
  
The princess felt her Hero of Time's hands on her shoulders, a steadying warmth. She was grateful for it.  
  
"Was it a vision?" he asked seriously.  
  
She hesitated before replying; "No, only a dream." She sighed and leaned against his chest, feeling safe in his strong arms. "Only a dream..."  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Well, there's the prologue, didn't take long to write, more soon (sooner if I get a few reviews)!  
  
Review onegai shima~su! ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Sorry for the terribly long wait; I had some issues to deal with...plus I was a bit nervous about the response to this chapter...  
  
Thanks to Serin Rukai (ff.net) for the review and constructive criticism, Ai-bo (mm.org) (check out Ai-bo's art! There's a really nice pic of Link!) for reminding me not to loose my "dark tones" (don't worry, there's very little chance of _that_ happening, though this chapter is pretty "light"), and to my imouto Mandi Bell (standing next to me with a mallet) for her threat to my personal safety ^_^; too bad she didn't leave her e-mail, ne? Because if she had, the rest of you could ask her to beat me up if I get too slow with the updates again (I'll try not to...really I will!).  
  
kokiri_kid22518 - Link is 17, which should be apparent in this chapter. Sorry, I have no intention of doing a crossover at this time.  
  
thalian and triforce_holder- I hope this will appease you for now. ^_^  
  
Warning: Romantic L/Z sap...I hope I didn't overdo it... Those of you who are serious L/Z 'shippers, please don't try to kill me at the end of this chapter; I really have every intention of keeping that pairing for this fic... (I'm not going to say any more on this subject, as it would give away far too much of the plot) Wait for the next chapter before you make any judgments.  
  
A couple of notes for this story; I am creating a few festivals for Hyrule ('cause everyone needs holidays, IMHO), which will likely show up in my other LoZ fics as well (I have two others, "The Fragile Web" and "The Hidden Face"). Anyway, the festivals are:  
  
The Festival of Awakening: Celebrated at the end of Winter to reawaken life.  
  
The Festival of Farore: Celebrated at the beginning of Spring, when everything is green.  
  
The Festival of Din: Celebrated at Midsummer, when it's hottest.  
  
The Festival of Naryu: Celebrated at early Autumn, when the first autumn rains fall.  
  
The Festival of the Dead: Celebrated at the end of Autumn, to honor the dead.  
  
Also, I drew a picture of Sheik without his mask. Uwa~u! It came out so well! He looks totally gorgeous! (Please note that I am my own harshest critic, so if I say it's nice...). Though I drew him with a smooth haircut like the picture in the guidebook (which was one of my resources), I want to do one of him with the spikier haircut sometime too. The pic could be from either Janus or from much, much later in The Fragile Web; it couldn't be from The Hidden Face though, because my Sheik in that has long hair.  
  
Janus  
Chapter 1  
  
The sun shone brightly on the field outside of the restored Hyrule Castle, the air still chill with the last vestige of winter, though it was now undeniably springtime.  
  
Laughing, Link returned Ruto's enthusiastic hug, tolerated Nabooru's affectionate ruffling of his hair, nodded to Rauru and Impa, deftly dodged Darunia's attempt to crush him to death in the name of "Brotherhood", and finally knelt to embrace Saria and kiss her on the cheek before plopping down on the picnic blanket beside Zelda. The others quickly followed his example, pouring themselves glasses of wine; with the exception of Saria, who poured herself a glass of sparkling juice.  
  
Zelda saw her personal guard ranged around the field; far enough away so as not to impose on the gathering, but close enough to come quickly if something happened. The Princess, soon to be Queen, smiled in amusement; given her current company, the guards truly were redundant. With a soft laugh, Zelda turned back to the gathering.  
  
"It is good to see you all again," she said. "It has been a while."  
  
"We should get together more often!" Ruto said, half pouting.  
  
"Rebuilding Hyrule is of primary importance right now," Zelda said. "As well you know. The six of you must heal the damage Gannondorf caused the world, and it is my job, and Link's, to heal the damage to the people; that necessitates our being in separate places."  
  
"Still--" Ruto protested.  
  
"Hey!" Nabooru interjected. "We're all here to celebrate and be thankful, not fight!"  
  
"That's right!" Link agreed, getting to his feet, wine-glass in hand. "And I, for one, am thankful to be here celebrating a full year of peace, surrounded by good food and even better friends; and speaking of celebrations, I have an announcement to make.  
  
"About a month ago I asked Zelda to marry me, and she consented--" He was abruptly cut off by cheers from his friends, and was unfortunately not quick enough this time to avoid being squashed by Darunia. Fortunately he was saved from his near-death experience by Nabooru and Ruto, who pulled him away from the well-meaning Sage of Fire, only to infringe on his breathing capabilities themselves, though not with nearly the same intensity; this was quickly followed by demands about wedding plans.  
  
After the ruckus had died down again, Link resumed his speech.  
  
"We haven't made any official announcements yet; we thought all of you should be the first to know, seeing as you're pretty much our family."  
  
"We will be making a formal announcement of our engagement at the Festival of Farore, next week," Zelda said. "And we have decided to have the wedding on the same day as my Coronation."  
  
"That's pretty soon," Ruto commented. "Your coronation is in less than a month, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, that is true," Zelda said. "But it is inevitable that Link and I will marry; we did not see any advantage in delaying it unnecessarily."  
  
"Well then!" Darunia's voice boomed, as he raised his very large wine glass. "A toast! To the union of our dear Brother and Sister! May their lives together be long and filled with happiness!"  
  
***  
  
That evening, after a full day of socializing and catching up, everyone, save Impa, had returned to their various temples to continue their efforts in healing the world; a process which, despite Zelda's attempts to explain, Link did not fully understand. Impa had opted to stay the night because, as she was effectively Zelda's surrogate mother, she had "the right and obligation to discuss with Zelda the details of her upcoming marriage."  
  
After Impa had retired to the guest quarters that had been reserved for her, Link escorted Zelda to hers, an action which had little to do with their romance; after the defeat of Gannondorf, Link had become Zelda's unofficial bodyguard. His bedroom was within her quarters, next to her own; the same room Impa had occupied when she had been Zelda's attendant.  
  
"Would you like to come in?" Zelda asked, when they got to the door of her bedroom.  
  
"I wouldn't dare!" Link laughed. "Impa may be halfway across the castle, but I wouldn't put it past her to descend on me like a carrion bird on a corpse if I did anything 'less than gentlemanly.'" Zelda giggled at the image Link had painted in her mind.  
  
"Morbid analogies aside, you have a point," Zelda said. "Well, goodnight, my hero." She kissed him. "And please do sleep. I would not want you sitting up the whole night watching my door; I have guards to do that."  
  
"As you command, your Majesty," he said, jokingly. He pressed another kiss to the princess's forehead then went to call her guards.  
  
***  
  
Link had not quite fallen asleep when he got the unnerving feeling that he was being watched. Slowly, so as not to alert the intruder, Link shifted so that he could reach his sword by the bed. He glanced around the room, spotting a shadow in a corner near the window.  
  
Link jumped up from the bed, sword in hand, and charged the intruder; bringing his sword to rest against the other person's throat. The person hadn't moved at all in reaction to the attack; Link knew that, if not for the darkness, the intruder would be meeting his eyes evenly.  
  
Link channeled enough energy into the blade to illuminate the other person's face, then nearly stepped back in shock.  
  
"Zelda?"  
  
"I am _not_ Zelda!" The masked person growled; spitting the princess's name like a curse. He reached up, pulled down his mask, and removed the turban, tossing it to the floor. His features were delicate but undeniably male and his hair fell only to his chin. "I am Sheik."  
  
"There is no Sheik." Link said flatly, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "What are you? A Phantom? What do you want here?"  
  
Link barely had time to register the stricken expression on "Sheik's" face before the shorter male, with lightning fast movements, struck the sword from Link's hand, then grabbed Link by his bare shoulders and pressed him up against the wall to their right before the sword's light flickered out and sight was lost to darkness once more.  
  
It took a moment for Link to realize that "Sheik" was kissing him, insistently, desperately. Link tried to push the deceptively slighter youth away from him; "Sheik" did stop kissing him but still clung to him, trembling violently.  
  
"I'm real!" the Sheikah gasped out, voice tinged with urgency. "I'm not a lie! I'm not a Phantom! I'm *real*!!!"  
  
A sudden convulsion wracked Sheik's body. Once it had passed, he reluctantly released Link and stepped away.  
  
A few moments later, Link knew that he was alone in the room.  
  
Shonia, Cyra, and Raevynn dressed in army fatigues complete with helmets: DUCK AND COVER!!! **dives behind the sofa** 


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, minna, keep 'em coming! I've probably lost at least half my readership over the last chapter, so I need lots of support from those of you who remain .

- Janus1 - Yes, you're right. Janus being the two-faced god, it seemed an appropriate title.

A/N: I've decided to stop excessively nitpicking this fic. I came to the realization that this is probably going to be a pretty long fic once I figure out where I'm going with it, and as such will almost certainly undergo a massive rewrite once I hit Chapter 6. I always do this, because once I get to Chapter 6 I have a better idea of where I'm going with the story; it's certainly the case with this one, because when I wrote Chapter 3 I realized that it's going to be much longer and more drawn out than I originally thought (it'll be very clear as to why this is once you read it); I'm actually going to need a supplementary plot and at this point I have absolutely no idea what to do (meanwhile, my traitor muse is off playing with a new fandom.)

I'm going to take this opportunity to confess that I haven't finished playing OoT yet...In fact, I'm still at the Fire Temple.

:puts a large pot on her head and holds a garbage can lid as a shield against anything that might be thrown at her:

However, my cousin and my sister have both completed the game, and I saw most of it, and now that my sis is off to school again I can get a little "quality time" with the N64.

**Janus**

Chapter 2

"Hey! What are you!"

Link shoved past the guards and slammed open Zelda's bedroom door.

"Link!" Zelda was sitting on the edge of her bed with a startled expression on her face. "Has something happened?" Zelda's eyes widened more as she took in Link's angry expression. The surprised and worried expression on her face gave Link pause, and he took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself before replying.

"Sheik was just in my room," Link told her. "How is that possible?"

"It isn't," Impa's voice came from behind Link; he turned to see her standing in the doorway. "You must have been dreaming."

"I understand why you would think that," Link said, "but believe me, it was no dream."

"Someone must have been playing a childish prank," Impa said. "I can assure you, there is no-"

It was then that Impa noticed Zelda's expression. Zelda's face had gone white, and she was staring with wide eyes at her right hand, clutched in a fist in her lap.

"Zelda, what is it?" Impa asked.

Zelda opened her hand and held it out; a simple gold chain bracelet with a ruby charm rested in her palm. "I...I don't know how this got into my hand…"

"What is it?" Link asked.

Zelda let out a keening wail and clapped her palms over her ears, shaking her head. Impa rushed past the confused guards and Link and pulled the princess into her arms, transporting them both away.

Cursing the fact that he couldn't follow them directly, Link took the bracelet from the floor where it had fallen and raced back to his room to grab his Ocarina; once he had it he played the Song of Time and was transported to the Temple of Time. Link ran up to the sealed door and pressed his hand to the center of the Triforce symbol, activating the teleportation spell that only he could use.

When Link arrived he saw Zelda being attended by Rauru and Saria with the others looking on.

"**What** is going on? Link demanded of Impa. He thrust the bracelet in the Shadow Sage's face. "What _is_ this?"

"That bracelet holds the enchantment that allowed Zelda to become Sheik."

Rauru stood from where he knelt beside the now calm princess.

"What this indicates," the Sage of Light told Link. "Is that somehow the mask has taken on a life of its own."

"Are you telling me that Zelda has two people inside of her?" Link asked, disbelievingly.

"Essentially, yes," Rauru answered.

"Well," Link said, after struggling with the concept for a moment. "What do we _do_?"

"That is a difficult problem," Rauru sighed. "Somehow we must find a way to cure her of it, we cannot have a Queen with a split personality after all; that would quite likely be nothing short of disastrous."

"NO!" Rauru and Link turned quickly to see Zelda struggling against Nabooru and Ruto, and Saria picking herself up off the ground. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Link walked over to Zelda and stopped, looking down into a pair of crimson eyes burning with angry accusation, but as Sheik's eyes stared up at him from Zelda's face the anger bled away, leaving only sheer terror.

"Please," Sheik whispered trying to reach a hand out to Link. "Please don't let them kill me…Link…"

Link sensed Impa behind him only a second before she reached past him and touched Zelda's forehead; the crimson eyes slipped closed and the princess's body sagged against Nabooru and Ruto.

"I will find out everything I can," Rauru said, as Link picked Zelda up. "In the meantime, it would be best to take her back to the castle and keep a close watch on her."

"Link or I will always be at her side," Impa assured him.

The Sage of Shadow put her hand on Link's shoulder and transported them back to Zelda's bedroom.

"I will speak to the guards," Impa said, and she left the room.

Link tucked Zelda into bed, then went to set the bracelet on her vanity.

"Give it to me." Link turned at the voice and saw Zelda sitting up in bed, looking at him with Sheik's eyes. "The bracelet. Give it to me. I dislike being in _Her_ body."

"Then leave." Link snapped, setting the bracelet down and then crossing his arms. "You don't belong there anyway."

"If I _could_ I would have done so already," Sheik returned.

"Well, Rauru will take care of that." Link regretted his words the second they left his mouth. Sheik paled, an expression of betrayal and disbelief on his face, then his eyes narrowed.

"Maybe I should just destroy Zelda. I can, you know; it would be difficult, but she isn't that strong. You wouldn't be able to do anything about me then."

"Don't you **dare**!" Link crossed the room and grabbed Sheik by the shoulders, pushing him down on the bed. "**Don't you dare do anything to Zelda**! ** You **are an intruder who doesn't belong _here_ or anywhere else! You're just a bit of Zelda's imagination that got a little out of hand! You aren't wanted! **Go Away!**"

Sheik stared at Link with wide eyes brimming with tears; he blinked them away and shook his head.

"**Shut up!**" He screamed, pushing at Link futilely. "**Shut up! What do _you_ know? Leave me _alone_!**" Then he sagged back into the bed and shut his eyes. When the eyes opened again, they were blue.

Zelda wrapped her arms around Link and cried.


End file.
